Bloomberg News

Welcome to Bloomberg’s new Banking Industry Monitor, bringing to you the top news on the global banking industry with emerging trends, winners and losers and market opportunities. Sign up: bloom.bg/4e65HY2 From the first edition: The war for talent and coping with regulators were recurring themes this week, along with signs that the drought in deal-making is still a drag on profits. Read more: bloom.bg/3HwT1NE

You might not expect a construction boom on the edge of China's Gobi Desert, but that's precisely what's unfolding in Yiwu county, Xinjiang. This isn't just any construction; it's the quiet, yet ambitious, buildout of massive data centers, signaling China's push to lead the world in artificial intelligence. Our recent investigation uncovered Chinese firms are aiming to equip these futuristic data centers with 115,000 high-end Nvidia AI chips. These are the same chips the US government has restricted its geopolitical rival from obtaining. This story delves deep into the heart of this complex issue, scrutinizing investment approvals, tender documents, and company filings. We explore these companies' plans to acquire chips that aren't legally available without US licenses, and the varying perspectives on just how many restricted chips might already be in China. US officials offer differing estimates. Two senior Biden administration officials believe around 25,000 banned Nvidia chips are currently in China, a number one of them suggested wouldn't be "terribly concerning." Yet, the scale of these planned projects in Xinjiang tells a different story of ambition. And the construction continues in Yiwu, a sign that Chinese companies anticipate receiving AI chips from somewhere. What's particularly intriguing is the location choice. Xinjiang offers an abundance of wind and solar energy, cheap land, and cool temperatures – all ideal for powering these energy-intensive data centers. We even found a slogan on a wall behind one new building in Yiwu: "Data-electricity fusion shows great promise". The US government is well aware that limiting China's access to US technology isn't as simple as writing a regulation. Stories of illicit hardware being smuggled in surprising ways abound. Meanwhile, Nvidia maintains it adheres to all US rules, with CEO Jensen Huang expressing concerns that Washington's strategy has "failed" to contain competitors like Huawei. This story isn't just about chips; it's about the future of AI and global technological leadership. Even if the Xinjiang complex, as envisioned, would be dwarfed by some US counterparts, Chinese companies like DeepSeek are showing they can achieve significant advancements with less. The gap between leading US and Chinese AI, as one tech investor noted, is "closing". With Mackenzie Hawkins, Colum Murphy, James Mayger, Jin Wu, Adrian Leung #AI #DataCenters #Xinjiang #Nvidia #TechInnovation #Geopolitics https://lnkd.in/gD-YgR8g

From butcher stalls to fintech startups, Colombia’s new payment system is revolutionizing how the country handles money.

Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would impose 50% tariffs on Brazil, a dramatic increase that followed the US leader’s intense vocal criticism of the foreign and domestic policies of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

When devastating rainstorms swept across a region in Texas known as “Flash Flood Alley,” only a fraction of homeowners there had federal flood insurance, data show. This lack of coverage is becoming more worrisome as climate change intensifies storms. Read more about the choices and risks homeowners face: bloom.bg/4nBslvH 🗺: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Central Texas has long earned a reputation as the "Flash-flood Alley." Yet only a fraction of homeowners there have flood insurance. In Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River swelled, killing more than 90 people, only 2% of homeowners hold federal flood insurance. That figure is below 10% in any of the 21 counties struck by the recent flooding. Those percentages are low, but not unusually so. While 99% of US counties have experienced flooding since 1996, only about 4% of homeowners have flood insurance, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Lack of flood insurance is the largest insurance gap we face across the country,” says Mark Friedlander, a spokesperson at the Insurance Information Institute. And here's why. 🎁 Free reading for 7️⃣ days. My latest for Bloomberg News Bloomberg Green, with my colleagues Eric Roston; Kyle Stock https://lnkd.in/dccB6T_9 #Texasflooding #floodinsurance #climateadaptation

Central Texas has long earned a reputation as the "Flash-flood Alley." Yet only a fraction of homeowners there have flood insurance. In Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River swelled, killing more than 90 people, only 2% of homeowners hold federal flood insurance. That figure is below 10% in any of the 21 counties struck by the recent flooding. Those percentages are low, but not unusually so. While 99% of US counties have experienced flooding since 1996, only about 4% of homeowners have flood insurance, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Lack of flood insurance is the largest insurance gap we face across the country,” says Mark Friedlander, a spokesperson at the Insurance Information Institute. And here's why. 🎁 Free reading for 7️⃣ days. My latest for Bloomberg News Bloomberg Green, with my colleagues Eric Roston; Kyle Stock https://lnkd.in/dccB6T_9 #Texasflooding #floodinsurance #climateadaptation

Donald Trump Jr. bought shares of a money-losing social media firm that’s building a Bitcoin stockpile, the latest in a series of investments the president’s family has made in “crypto treasury” strategies.

On this episode of Merryn Talks Money,  we discuss why the region could be a winner thanks to Donald Trump’s retreat from globalization.

On today’s Big Take podcast: Investors are worried about an oil surplus. So why is OPEC+ pumping more? David Gura and Joumanna Bercetche discuss bit.ly/44Ih5ox